(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a swing type amusement ride which includes a support structure, a launch structure, and a mechanism capable of raising a rider to a position at least thirty feet above the ground, from which position the rider can swing away from the launch structure in a curved trajectory under the support structure.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, there have been a variety of different types of amusement rides and apparatus for simulating the reduction of gravity to a rider. Some of these devices are known to be disclosed in Fitch U.S. Pat. No. 857,338; Ridgway U.S. Pat. No. 2,779,596; Ryan U.S. Pat. No. 3,701,528; and Greenwood U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,120.
Furthermore, there have been a variety of playground and backyard swings and swing sets used by children and adults. These swings can vary in height from a small swing standing 8 to 10 feet high, to a large swing standing twelve to fifteen feet high. A rider of such a swing normally takes a sitting position in a swing seat and starts its pendulum motion from a position in which the swing is vertical, unless aided by a running start, or by a person to help push and enhance the height of the swing arc. While the sitting or standing position on a swing seat is the norm, riders have been known to lie on their stomachs on top of a swing seat and swing in a prone position, but without being secured to the swing.
Even the most skillful and powerful swing rider on a large swing will rarely exceed a 2 o'clock or 10 o'clock position at a height of about twenty feet, before gravity overtakes the centripetal force of the swing, and slack occurs in the swing rope or chain. Should a rider manage to force the swing to make a 360 degree circuit, his or her height would seldom exceed about thirty feet from the ground.
The use external equipment to assist a swing rider to begin his or her ride from an elevated position is taught in Hoppes U.S. Pat. No. 1,731,532; Pruessner U.S. Pat. No. 1,918,559; and Walker U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,870. Each of these references disclose standard playground and backyard type swing systems which have adjacent stairs which a person may climb to start swinging from a position above the ground, and thereby obtain an immediate swing elevation and experience an initial speed which is higher and faster than starting to swing from the ground. But, even in these systems the initial height above the ground which the rider experiences would seldom be more than about four feet to about twelve feet.
In some swing systems, and especially those designed for small children, and in some amusement rides, bungee jumping equipment, parachute equipment, hang gliding systems, and the like, mechanisms for securing a rider to the equipment is provided. But, none of these systems provide a swing ride which initiates a swing release at a height of more than thirty feet above the ground. The prior art swing sets have not been large enough, strong enough or high enough to justify the use of a body harness for holding an adult rider, and especially not for holding and securing such a rider in a prone position, such as in a hang glider. Furthermore, prior art swing technology has not been known to operate at heights which allow a rider to reach a height which is greater than about twenty to thirty feet above the ground, or, other than in a trapeze system, to swing from a "launch" structure towards a "support" structure. It is noted that in trapeze systems, the swings are intentionally "high above the center ring," and never approach the ground.
It is thus seen that nowhere in the prior art is there a swing type amusement ride which includes, in combination, a support structure having an upper portion which is located thirty feet (and as much as several hundred feet or more) above the surface of the ground, a support line having an upper end connected to the upper portion of the support structure and a lower end to which is connected a system for securing a rider to the support line; as well as a launch structure which has an upper portion which is located thirty feet (and as much as several hundred feet or more) or more above the surface of the ground, is spaced from the upper portion of the support structure, and which carries a launch line which includes a launching mechanism for releasable attachment to the rider securing mechanism; and a mechanism associated with the launch structure, but which is not powered by the rider, for raising a rider who has been secured to the system to a height of at least thirty feet (and as much as several hundred feet or more) above the ground, from which height the rider may begin his or her swing away from the launch structure towards the ground in a curved trajectory to simulate the feeling of "body flight".